1. Field
The subject matter discussed herein relates generally to providing an application and, more particularly, to privacy setting metadata for application developers.
2. Related Background
A software developer writes or develops, for example, an application (also referred to as an “app”) for associating users having a common interest. The app needs to access a wide variety of data about users of the app, such as a user's name, phone number, location, profile info, etc., which are crucial for making the associate between the users. However, there is no mechanism for the developer to tell users who install the app why the data are needed and to obtain meaningful permissions or consents from the users to gather and/or use the data.
In some development platforms, such as, but not limited to, the Android™ platform, a developer may describe the functionality and requirements of an application using predefined categories provided in that platform (e.g., using the Manifest.permission class). When the application is compiled, a separate file (e.g., AndroidManifest.xml) is generated. At installation, both the app and the associated AndroidManifest.xml need to be present. The predefined categories selected by the developer at the time of development are presented to users who install the app.
However, the predefined categories may be too broad, and it may not be possible for the installing user to be informed that only a portion of the category is applied. For example, even if the application needs to only take screenshots and applies filters to the screenshots, a predefined category may indicate that the app needs to “Access all of your data on the web,” which includes more than the screenshots. A prospective user may be influenced by such a broad category and refrain from installing or using the application.